Colton Bryson
Command Sergeant Major Colton Bryson is a retired Army senior-noncommissioned officer who served within several elite units during his twenty-five years of service. Enlisting at 18 years old in 1996, Colton trained to join the 75th Ranger Regiment, where he spent time with the 2nd Ranger Battalion as a rifleman and sniper. After three years of being a Ranger, Colton moved on to the next step of his career and attempted to become a Special Forces operator. Passing the Special Forces training, Colton went on to serve with the 1st Special Forces Group as a Weapons Sergeant and sniper. There, he deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom to both Afghanistan and the Philippines. After tours with the 1st Special Forces Group, Colton attempted to join the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta in 2006 and joined later in 2007. Deploying with the Unit, Colton completed several deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. He rose as an elite sniper and troop leader who later commanded a squadron as an enlisted leader. Colton served in several spots within the Unit as well as with the Joint Special Operation Command. After 25 years of military service, Colton retired from the United States Army in 2016. Biography Early Life United States Army Training Ranger Training Before trying out for the 75th Ranger Regiment in 1996, Colton underwent Basic Training at Fort Benning under a MOUT, where he completed AIT and Airborne School before starting the Ranger Indoctrination Program. Once completing the Ranger Indoctrination Program, he went on to become a rifleman for Company C of the 2nd Ranger Battalion. In 1999, Colton completed Ranger School, where he earned his Ranger tab as a Specialist and earned his promotion to Corporal. While a Ranger, Colton attended Helicopter Assault School, Sniper School, and Urban Sniper Course. At the Helicopter Assault Course and Sniper School, he graduated at the top of his class with high marks. Due to his deployments to Bosnia, he specialized in urban sniping to give himself an edge against those he deployed against at the time. By the end of his time with the Rangers, Colton prepared to take the Pathfinder course but went into Special Forces Qualifications Course. Special Forces Training Attending the Special Forces Qualifications Course, Colton completed several tasks and exercises that propelled him to join a Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha team. He trained to become a Weapons Sergeant along with language proficiency in Japanese. As a Special Forces Sergeant, Colton completed the Military Free-Fall Parachutist Course, where he spent time with a HALO and Mobility Team. While with the 1st Special Forces Group, Colton trained to become a Special Forces sniper, Jumpmaster, Freefall Jumpmaster, and Pathfinder. The courses assisted Colton in rounding himself out as a respected Special Forces Sergeant who deployed with a number of HALO and Mobility Teams. He attended Scuba School, which allowed him the opportunity to deploy with scuba teams if he were ever to be assigned. 1st SFOD-D Training Going through the Unit's assessment and selection, Colton underwent a brutal training regime to weed out the weak and bring in the right soldier to become an operator. After passing selection, he attended the Operator Training Course, where he prepared to become an operator for a Special Missions Unit. A number of the skills that he learned helped him become a veteran operator among many of those around him. With the Unit, Colton attended the Advanced Tactical Infiltration Course, UKSF Mountain Course, Advanced Driving, DoD Extreme Survival Course, and a number of other courses that kept his skills up as an operator for the Unit. Already an elite operator with experience from the 1st Special Forces Group and 75th Ranger Regiment, Colton continued to build on his career as a sniper who became a Troop Sergeant Major for the Sniper Troops later in his time with the Unit. NATO Intervention in Bosnia Operation Joint Guard Operation Joint Forge Operation Allied Force Global War on Terrorism Operation Enduring Freedom-PHIL In the wake of learning about Abu Sayyaf being connected with Al'Qaeda in Afghanistan, the 1st Special Forces Group along with a Task Force from Special Operations Command - Pacific began to send military advisors to the Philippines to assist with hunting down the terrorist groups within the region. Linking up with Filipinos, Colton and his ODA began to act as advisors and conduct patrols alongside the Philippines's military. Arriving at the Basilan Jungle, he and the ODA prepared for patrols. Throughout 2002 and 2003, Colton conducted a number of missions to advise and assist the Filipinos in hunting down and capturing Abu Sayyaf sympathizers. The Filipinos continued to be the spearhead of fighting against the terrorist group while Colton trained and educated many of the military units on how to handle an unconventional fighting force. During his time in the Pacific, he learned to connect with the people and be a better educator. Between 2004 to 2006, Colton and his ODA shifted their focus towards the Jemaah Islamiyah who was causing a number of issues. Links between Al-Qaeda and Abu Sayyaf were located by Other Government Agencies and led the 1st Special Forces Group to shift their focus towards another target. Colton along with his peers continued to assist the Filipinos in hunting down the terrorists who attacked civilians. He made a name for himself during a long-winded firefight where he engaged and took out numerous fighters. Operation Enduring Freedom-AFG In 2005, Colton rotated to Afghanistan for deployment while a number of US forces fought against an insurgency. Assisting Task Force Kandahar, Colton and his ODA embedded with local fighters to battle against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters who had not left the land. Working with other nations and hunting terrorists across the terrain, he learned that the Afghan locals differed from the Filipinos, something that made him think about the hardships of the country. Returning to Afghanistan in 2010, Colton remembered the reality of the area and how the Taliban operated alongside Al-Qaeda and the foreign fighters. Chechens became famous foreign fighters and often caused the most casualties in American units. B Squadron began hunting down Chechens and other high ranking terrorist leaders to ensure they no longer posed a threat to conventional units. Notably, Colton conducted many operations within the Korengal Valley, one that became a shooting gallery for both sides. As the Arab Springs came to a close and certain countries spun out of control, Colton returned to Afghanistan in 2012 to assist with missions that hunted down Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters. Operating in the west and south, he deployed with assaulters and recon troops to help with overwatch on raids around the area. The Unit continued their ruthless hunting of the forces after Team 6 took down UBL in Pakistan. Rotating out, Colton shifted his focus from Afghanistan and the Taliban to ISIS and the Middle East. Operation Iraqi Freedom Joining B Squadron of the Unit in 2007, Colton ran as an assaulter and began his career by doing around-the-clock raids on Al-Qaeda Iraq forces as well as any other enemies. The firefights that he found himself in, were much shorter and faster, yet happened more often. B Squadron conducted many missions per night and got a number of enemy troops off the street. Numbers within the Unit dwindled due to the number of casualties, forcing Colton to conduct more raids to assist with the lack of operators. Throughout 2008, B Squadron continued to rebuild after a very successful year of capturing Al-Qaeda Iraq personnel. Colton moved into the reconnaissance squadron where he continued to deploy within Iraq and assist with taking down the remaining leaders. The tempo in Iraq started to wind down following 2007, yet JSOC and its counterparts continued to locate and raid numerous locations to ensure another insurgency was not bound to happen. B Squadron continued to assist with operations and missions until being rotated out. By 2009, Colton and the rest of B Squadron began to see a decrease in forces around Iraq. The military de-escalation of Iraq caused a rift within the Squadron due to the ones who knew they needed to stay while others turned their attention to Afghanistan and Northern Africa. He recently joined the sniper troop after two years of training and became one of the elite snipers deployed within the assault squadron. Operation Juniper Shield In 2011, Colton and B Squadron deployed to Egypt and Libya to prepare for raiding and retrieving WMDs during the Arab Springs. Libya proved to be the biggest threat because of its stockpile and Colton prepared to assist with clandestine raids. Watching the protests and seeing the reaction from leaders, he prepared to engage a variety of targets if the Libyan Government planned to utilize such weaponry. The country went into chaos after the overthrow and Colton carried out a number of raids to take terrorist leaders off the streets. Throughout the months of 2013, Colton commanded an assault troop as a Troop Sergeant Major and assisted with locking down targets across Syria and Iraq. ISIL began to grow more within the borders of the two countries and built itself a sizeable force that the United States was struggling to react. Colton worked with several troops to hunt down ISIL forces that were targeting US allies in the regions. Yet, the decision to help more was hindered by the US government, who did not want another war. Operation Inherent Resolve Colton, the Command Sergeant Major of B Squadron, prepared for targeting ISIL in Iraq by utilizing an Expeditionary Targeting Force that used JSOC and USSOCOM capable forces. Deploying to Iraq in 2014, Colton stepped foot inside of the country for the first time since 2009 and began his work of hunting down ISIL leaders. Throughout the year, the ETF proved to be an extremely effective and lethal idea that captured and killed several leaders. Throughout 2015, Colton continued to assist with hunting ISIL forces that led to the capture of many leaders. The ability of B Squadron to keep hunting down the enemy within a short amount of time proved that they had waited too long for ISIL to grow to their size. Colton expanded into Syria and Iraq, where he continued to hunt across the borders where ISIL leaders hid. Many leaders were captured and brought back to the US for trials or interrogated to learn more about enemy movements across the area. As the final deployment within the US Army, Colton conducted several raids across Iraq and Syria that continued to dwindle their numbers in 2016. The capture and death of many ISIL leaders helped JSOC and the United States take a breath while B Squadron whisked them off the streets. Syria turned into a mess with geopolitical forces coming to halt B Squadron's hunting while they roamed free in Iraq. By the end of the deployment, Colton was content with the mission he had accomplished. Retirement Post-Military Careers FBI CTD & CIRG Vance & Brown Inc. Personality Skills and Traits Nicknames Career Service Record Awards and Ribbons Ranks and Promotions Relationships Family Children US Army SOF Gracie Anderson